Research Explains Wide Variations in Animal Sleep Habits
An extensive research analysis by a neuroscientist at UCLA's Semel Institute and the Veterans Affairs' Neurobiology Research Laboratory concludes that environment and diet largely determine sleep needs.
Appearing in the Oct. 27 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Nature, the analysis shows that meat-eating species sleep the most and grazing animals the least.
Sleep amounts range from 20 hours in the little brown bat to only two hours in the horse. Animals that have less sleep do not appear to make up for this by sleeping more deeply.
The analysis concludes that sleep functions to keep animals safe by restricting waking to the hours when an animal is most likely to be successful at finding food and avoiding danger.
Human sleep follows the rules that determine sleep time in other animals, the analysis concludes. Humans sleep somewhat less than animals with similar physiological features, suggesting that we may have evolved to have more waking hours in order to better compete with other humans.
"Conventional wisdom in much of neuroscience has been that sleep has a single vital function across animals, just as food and water have universal functions," said Dr. Jerome Siegel, professor-in-residence at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and chief of neurobiology research at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Sepulveda.
"Yet some animals can go without sleep for long periods of time with no ill effects, whereas sleep deprivation in others can be lethal," Siegel said. "These new conclusions explain why some animals can survive and reproduce optimally with only a few waking hours, whereas others need to eat all day and must have reduced sleep time."
The Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA is an interdisciplinary research and education institute devoted to the understanding of complex human behavior, including the genetic, biological, behavioral and sociocultural underpinnings of normal behavior, and the causes and consequences of neuropsychiatric disorders. More information about the institute is available online at http://www.npi.ucla.edu/.
The VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System's Neurobiology Research Laboratory is a part of the Sleep Research Group. This multidisciplinary group of investigators is pursuing innovative ways to prevent and treat sleep disorders. Current studies focus on body-temperature regulation during sleep, brain mechanisms regulating sleep and circadian rhythms, narcolepsy and its causes, and the role of sleep in epileptic events.
Source: UCLA
-
From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor,
33 comments
-
Thioridazine kills cancer stem cells in human while avoiding toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments,
3 comments
-
SpaceX private rocket blasts off for space station (Update),
42 comments
-
Landmark calculation clears the way to answering how matter is formed,
55 comments
-
Research team claims to have found evidence Lake Cheko is impact crater for Tunguska Event,
18 comments
More news stories
Change in developmental timing was crucial in the evolutionary shift from dinosaurs to birds: study
At first glance, it's hard to see how a common house sparrow and a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have anything in common. After all, one is a bird that weighs less than an ounce, and the other is a dinosaur that ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
11 hours ago |
5 / 5 (8) |
0
|
Social welfare cuts ultimately come with heavy price, researchers say
(Phys.org) -- Slashing government funding for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs that serve the poor – while politically popular with some lawmakers and many conservatives – may do more harm ...
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
May 24, 2012 |
4.1 / 5 (23) |
156
Ancient Bethlehem seal unearthed in Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old seal that bears the inscription "Bethlehem," the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday, in what experts believe to be the oldest artifact ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 23, 2012 |
3.3 / 5 (15) |
24
Dollars and sense: Why are some people morally against tax?
As the U.S. presidential election campaigns heat up, the economic debate is dominated by bailouts, austerity and, inevitably, taxation. Now a new study published in Symbolic Interaction asks why tax is such an important issue ...
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
May 23, 2012 |
2.3 / 5 (3) |
20
Oldest Jewish archaeological evidence on the Iberian Peninsula
German archaeologists of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena found one of the oldest archaeological evidence so far of Jewish Culture on the Iberian Peninsula at an excavation site in the south of Portugal, ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 25, 2012 |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
12
Stunning image of smallest possible five-ringed structure
Scientists have created and imaged the smallest possible five-ringed structure – about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair – and you'll probably recognise its shape.
'Unzipped' carbon nanotubes could help energize fuel cells, batteries
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes riddled with defects and impurities on the outside could replace some of the expensive platinum catalysts used in fuel cells and metal-air batteries, according to scientists at ...
Computer model used to pinpoint prime materials for efficient carbon capture
When power plants begin capturing their carbon emissions to reduce greenhouse gases – and to most in the electric power industry, it's a question of when, not if – it will be an expensive undertaking.
T cells 'hunt' parasites like animal predators seek prey, study shows
By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement ...
Yale study concludes public apathy over climate change unrelated to science literacy
Are members of the public divided about climate change because they don't understand the science behind it? If Americans knew more basic science and were more proficient in technical reasoning, would public consensus match ...
Land and sea species differ in climate change response: study
(Phys.org) -- Marine and terrestrial species will likely differ in their responses to climate warming, new research by Simon Fraser University and Australia’s University of Tasmania has found.
